Gap Year(s) Advice?

[Shibe1]

Hello,

I am a rising senior right now and I have decided that I will take at least two gap years. I've narrowed down 2 options so far, and I can't decide what to choose. Does anyone have any advice to spare? I'll list my stats first just so it is clear where I am right now.

GPA: 3.91 cGPA, 3.89 sGPA

Will need to take MCAT during gap years.

New England resident, I attend a large public school, and I'm ORM.

Research: Will have ~1,000 hours at graduation, 1 senior thesis, 1 poster, and possibly a publication

Clinical volunteering: 160 hours over 1 year volunteering with low-income patients. 35 hours assisting patients at a covid testing clinic.

Non-clinical volunteering: None

Shadowing: 30 hours of shadowing a PA, but nothing else.

Option 1: Take two gap years and work as a EMT / CNA. I would volunteer at a soup kitchen regularly to get in some non-clinical volunteering as well, and address the shadowing issue.

Pros:
-would address the deficiencies in my app (clinical / non-clinical volunteering / shadowing ) pretty well.
-Only two gap years

Cons:
-Probably wouldn't get the chance to bolster my research enough for top research-heavy schools.
-I also have been considering the MD/PhD route, and this would eliminate that possibility.

Option 2: Apply for the NIH IRTA postbacc program, or something similar. Accumulate about 4,000 more research hours, while working in a small amount of shadowing, clinical, and non-clinical volunteering over the course of 2 years.

Pros:
-if the 2 years are productive, they'd make me a better candidate for research-heavy schools.
-IRTA is a well-recognized program
-I could determine if I wanted to do MD/PhD, and it could allow me to be a fairly competitive candidate for such programs

Cons:
-Would likely require 3 gap years
-Clinical and non-clinical volunteering would probably remain fairly low, I would probably shoot for about 300 clinical hours and 300 non-clinical

Anyways, thanks to anyone who read to the bottom of this. I'm pretty torn on what to do. Any advice would mean a lot.

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[pcm810]

Can I ask why you think an IRTA would require 3 years? 3 years is considered very rare for an IRTA, and the vast majority do 2. I would say your decision would really depend on how you feel about MD/PhD. MSTPs are typically more accepting of average volunteering stats (300 would be well within a successful MSTP app), making NIH your best option. If you do MD, 'only' 1000 hours of research would be competitive, so clinical work would be best. That being said, many IRTAs are interested in MD and do clinical work at the NIH.

 

[Shibe1]

Can I ask why you think an IRTA would require 3 years? 3 years is considered very rare for an IRTA, and the vast majority do 2. I would say your decision would really depend on how you feel about MD/PhD. MSTPs are typically more accepting of average volunteering stats (300 would be well within a successful MSTP app), making NIH your best option. If you do MD, 'only' 1000 hours of research would be competitive, so clinical work would be best. That being said, many IRTAs are interested in MD and do clinical work at the NIH.

I meant three gap years, as I would apply during my second year in the program. Sorry, I should’ve clarified.

 

[pcm810]

A normal time line for an IRTA would be to do research for 1 year, then do the application cycle during their second year, then matriculate at the end of their second year. For example I began mine in 2021 and am applying now, for a total of 2 gap years. I am still not sure why you would need to complete 2 years before applying, you should have plenty of research without that.

 

[Shibe1]

A normal time line for an IRTA would be to do research for 1 year, then do the application cycle during their second year, then matriculate at the end of their second year. For example I began mine in 2021 and am applying now, for a total of 2 gap years. I am still not sure why you would need to complete 2 years before applying, you should have plenty of research without that.

I'd like to fit in some time for clinical volunteering and non-clinical volunteering as well. I feel it would be difficult to squeeze this and MCAT prep into a one-year span.